NetApp slims product family with launch of FAS8000 series
NetApp launches FAS8000 line that will replace FAS3000 and FAS6000 series filers
NetApp plans to slim down its filer product range, replacing the FAS3000 and FAS6000 series devices with an enterprise-class FAS8000 range that will feature its V-Series storage virtualisation functionality.
The FAS8000 range of NetApp filers will eventually replace the FAS3000 and FAS6000, leaving just the FAS8000 and the entry-level FAS2000 series. Lawrence James, products, alliances and solutions manager for NetApp northern EMEA, could not say when the 3000 and 6000 ranges will be replaced.
The 8000 range starts with the FAS8020 that can scale to 1.92PB and 480 drives with a Flash Cache component of up to 6TB and six-core Intel Sandy Bridge CPUs. James said the FAS8020 “maps to the FAS3220 in terms of capacity”. RAM is doubled from that in the FAS3220 to 48GB in the FAS8000, while NVRAM is up to 8GB.
Top of the range is the FAS 8060, which has a 32-core CPU, a 30% increase in memory over the FAS6220 it will replace, plus 16GB of NVRAM. Maximum total capacity is 4.8PB in 1,200 drives with a Flash Cache component of 18TB.
The mid-range FAS8040 maps to the existing FAS3250 and scales to 2.8PB and 720 drives.
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The other key announcement is the launch of FlexArray storage virtualisation software. This takes the capability of NetApp’s V-Series storage virtualisation hardware and offers it as an option in the FAS8000 arrays, allowing users to create SAN and NAS storage pools from existing NetApp and third-party hardware.
“We’re taking V-Series capability and putting it into ONTAP as a feature that can be enabled at any time as an integrated array or virtualised storage controller. At the core we’ll be able to manage NetApp E-Series arrays plus some products from EMC and Hitachi Data Systems [HDS],” said James.
That inclusion of FlexArray in ONTAP for the 8000 series means the V-Series will be phased out, but James could not give a date for when this will happen: “We will not have a requirement for a separate V-Series product line as FlexArray acts via ONTAP.”
The FlexArray capability will only be available on the FAS8000 series. James would not comment on why this is the case.
Meanwhile, a point release of Data ONTAP to version 8.2.1 sees the introduction of non-disruptive maintenance operations enabled by automated volume movement and shelf replacement without effect on user operations. The upgrade also incorporates workflow analysis, allowing users to size flash environments by monitoring read/write percentages and cache availability.
